


I'm Not A Child | [10th!Doctor X Reader

by midnighteclipse



Series: Catching Up With the Times | [10th!Doctor X Reader X 11th!Doctor] [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 08:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7676539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnighteclipse/pseuds/midnighteclipse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This isn't happening. This can't possibly be happening.</p><p>Over and over he repeated it in his head like a mantra. There was no way this was happening. He wouldn't accept it.</p><p>This was just another horrible nightmare. Soon he'll be bolting up in his bed in the TARDIS and it'll just be another restless night. He'll wake up and head down to the console room and find something to fix until you woke up. Then the two of you could go to some other ridiculous planet or some other primitive time period on a silly adventure. That was exactly what was going to happen.</p><p>He tried so hard to convince himself of that, even now as he ran towards the TARDIS with your battered body in his arms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Not A Child | [10th!Doctor X Reader

_ This isn't happening. This can't possibly be happening. _   
  
Over and over he repeated it in his head like a mantra. There was no way this was happening. He wouldn't accept it.   
  
This was just another horrible nightmare. Soon he'll be bolting up in his bed in the TARDIS and it'll just be another restless night. He'll wake up and head down to the console room and find something to fix until you woke up. Then the two of you could go to some other ridiculous planet or some other primitive time period on a silly adventure. That was exactly what was going to happen.   
  
He tried so hard to convince himself of that, even now as he ran towards the TARDIS with your battered body in his arms.   
  
Knots began forming in the pit of his stomach as he felt your warm blood seep from your side, through his clothes and onto his abdomen.   
  
His eyes darted down towards your face. You were getting paler by the second. If he didn't get to the medbay soon he would lose you for sure.   
_  
_ __ No. I won't let that happen.   
  
With new resolve, the Doctor willed his legs to run faster and harder than he ever did before. Within seconds, his familiar and beloved box came into view through the foliage of the forest he was navigating. A glimmer of hope wormed its way into his hearts as she opened her doors for him and allowed him entry.   
  
He ran up the ramp, dashed through the main console room, and bounded up the steps and into the hallway. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he sprinted down the spaceship's hallways. He didn't run in a particular direction, he knew the TARDIS would open any doors and arrange rooms for him in order to reach the med bay.   
  
"...hnngh..." You groaned in pain, struggling to stay awake. You refused to close your eyes in your current state.   
  
"Hang in there." The Doctor pleaded. "We're almost home."   
  
As soon as the words left his mouth, the familiar sleek metal pocket door came into view. It slid into the wall, revealing the stark white walls, metal tables and rows of cabinets.   
  
The Doctor rushed in and laid you down on the metal table at the far end as carefully as possible.   
  
"Be right back." He reassured, even if he wasn't sure how conscious you were.   
  
He ran to opposite side of the room and rifled through cabinets.   
  
"Where are they, where are they?" He muttered to himself as he pushed away canisters and peered into plastic containers."I know they're here!" He was gritting his teeth now, frantically throwing canisters on the floor without a care.   
  
One hit the wall and rolled over to him. Gold light seeped out and shone around his foot. Catching sight of it, the Doctor bent down quickly to pick it up and ran over to you. His hands shook as he unscrewed the cap.   
  
He dumped the nanogenes on your abdomen and sighed in relief as he saw them quickly respond to your wound. In a matter of minutes the gash had closed up and color drained back into your face.   
  
That Doctor's Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed thickly. That was way too close for comfort. You almost could've...   
  
But then, you would never be safe with him, would you? You were better off without him living a normal, boring and oh so human life. Weren't you?   
  
The Doctor shook his head. He couldn't keep thinking like that. Those types of thoughts were what kept him from getting too close to Rose. He couldn't do that to himself anymore. He couldn't do that to the people he loved anymore.   
  
The Doctor paused. He loved you?   
  
When did that happen?   
  
When did he allow himself to feel this way?   
  
His eyes flitted down to stare down at your hands. His own gingerly lifted one from its place and held it between them.   
  
Had they always been this warm?   
  
Or had he been so focused in the past that not even a touch as warm as your own could thaw through the ice he had placed around his hearts?   
  
Even then you had succeeded. You had already gotten under his skin and wormed your way into his hearts, tearing down every wall placed in your way without even trying.   
  
How could a human possibly do such a thing in such a short amount of time? You were the only other one to do so. How?   
  
Despite himself, the Doctor smiled. He didn't care, not really. All that mattered was that he did love you, and you had the right to know.   
  


* * *

  
  
Your hand twitched within his and your fingers curled. Eyes fluttering open, you were greeted with the sight of the medbay's bright white ceiling lights.   
  
Memories began resurfacing. Right. You were attacked by the king's general on planet Khalisadir. You and the Doctor had helped aide in a revolution against the planet's tyrant and his regime. The Doctor must have made it to the medbay after all.   
  
The Doctor's face appeared above yours. You noticed just how tired yet relieved he looked. His eyebrows drew together worriedly.   
  
"Hello." You rasped, realizing just how dry your throat was.   
  
The Doctor smiled. "Hello."His hand squeezed yours.   
  
You sat up slowly. You still felt weak.   
  
Your eyes scanned over the Doctor.   
  
"Oh!" You gasped at the sight of blood on the Doctor's clothes,your blood. It stained through his coat all the way to his Oxford. "There's blood everywhere."   
  
"Hm?" The Doctor looked down at himself. Right, he was so caught up in getting you fixed up he forget to get rid of his coat and suit. He removed his coat and jacket, dropping them both on the floor. His dress shirt, fortunately, didn't get so much blood as everything else. "It's fine."   
  
"Don't be ridiculous! Janis Joplin gave you that coat! I'll wash it, I promise."   
  
You turned, ready to hop off the metal table until you registered the Doctor's fingers were intertwined with yours. You froze. It wasn't that you hated holding hands with him, quite the opposite really. It was just... he had never laced his fingers between yours so tightly.   
  
"There's something you need to know. Something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time now." His Adam's apple bobbed nervously as he swallowed.   
  
"Yeah?" You shifted on the table. Where exactly was he going with this? He wasn't going to confess was he? No.   
  
He was the Doctor. He was immortal. He couldn't afford getting attached to a human. Something so fragile and fleeting. It would only hurt him in the end.   
  
"English isn't my first language."    
_  
_ _ Okay _ , you thought.  _ That wasn't what I expected at all.  _   
  
"So forgive me if what I say doesn't make as much sense as I wish it would." The Doctor swallowed thickly, collecting his thoughts as he did so. "You are as devastating as the death of a star. You're eyes are as infinite as the cosmos itself. And you pull me in like a black hole. If I could compare your beauty, I would liken it to the most vibrant corners of the Medusa Cascade but even they would fall short of your radiance.”   
  
Your heart pounded in your chest as his hands slid from your hands up to your elbows.   
  
"For years I've felt nothing but emptiness. Which reminds me about you humans. You lot have this arrogant belief that your planet is the only planet that can support life. Like I did. I thought--" He sighed. "I thought Rose Tyler was the only human being capable of making me feel this... but you. You've made me realize there is more life in the universe besides her. And just as the Daleks have stolen my TARDIS many times, you have ruthlessly stolen my hearts."   
  
You felt time stand still. His hands were on your shoulder now. When did they get there? How long had you been staring into those deep, dark eyes? Why were you filled with dread?   
  
"Doctor... I... you." This couldn't really be happening, could it? "You're not serious."   
  
He deflated, pulling his hands away from you. You realized how cold the room was. "You don't... Sorry. I didn't mean to..."   
  
"Don't get me wrong." You blurted. "I'm flattered it's just... why now? Why not before I almost died?"   
  
And then it clicked. "Oh, you think..." The Doctor's hearts felt heavy. "You think I'm confessing so that you'll stay with me."   
  
You hugged yourself. "You're the Doctor. You don't die and you definitely don't fall in love. How could you, when compared to you we're nothing."   
  
Many thoughts passed through the Doctor's mind. Hundreds, actually. But one beat every other to the ground and stood on top.   
  
You believed he was desperate enough to manipulate you into staying. Or even worse, you believed you weren't worthy of such affections from him.   
  
"It's okay, Doctor. I wasn't going to leave anyway. You don't have to lie to me."   
  
"…  I would never do that to you. I’m not a child, I know what this feels like.”   
  
His hands found their way to you shoulders once more, cool fingers pressing firmly against the exposed skin of your shoulders.   
  
“I know what love is. I… I love you.”   
  
Your fingers curled on the edge of the metal table.   
  
Time froze once more as his face leaned in towards yours. In those few seconds you noticed four things; the Doctor’s freckles were in the shape of his favorite constellations, his Oxford fit him  __ perfectly,  his hands had slipped down to your elbows, he paused an inch away from you waiting for permission to continue.   
  
You leaned forward, granting him what he now knew he had wanted for a long time, a person with which he could truly express his emotions.   
  
All that love, all that respect and compassion and happiness was shared in that one kiss. Just a simple connecting of lips, and you two understood the extent of each other's emotion.   
  
And as you felt just how much the Doctor truly loved you, the moment he pulled away and gave you the brightest smile you had ever seen on him, you grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in for another.


End file.
